Kieran Reilly added another slice of history to his CV as two dazzling runs in the BMX freestyle park landed Team GB their first gold of the 2023 European Games.
The 21-year-old last year became the first person to land the almighty triple flair before going on to achieve a brilliant European Championship silver.
And he upgraded that in style in Poland, scoring a superb 92.33 on his second run to etch his name into the record books as the first-ever man to win a BMX Freestyle Park gold for Team GB.
Reilly was one of two British stars on the podium, joined by Declan Brooks, who added another bronze to his collection having earned the same colour medal at Tokyo 2020.
“This has been the goal for the last year, pretty much,” Reilly said.
“I’ve been chasing this with a vengeance for the past year to get a run down, at this event, which was 100%. I got that done today, which got me the top spot, which is amazing.
“A year ago, I wasn’t even making finals at World Cups and now I want to win as a competitor, and that’s been paying off for me – I’ve been preparing better, training better, and that’s paying off.
“I want to continue on this trajectory, keep aiming to win, keep going to these big events and qualify for Paris and, once we’re there, take top spot again.”
Reilly's romance with BMX started way back in his childhood, instantly hooked by the thrill of the skatepark.
Spurred on by the social and friendly nature of the sport, Reilly's determination to always get up from a crash has led him to new heights on the bike.
Soak it in...
— Team GB (@TeamGB) June 22, 2023
The first-ever man to win a BMX Freestyle Park gold for Team GB 🤯#EuropeanGames2023 pic.twitter.com/FD4g5te3dc
"The skatepark was the hangout spot, watching everyone on their bikes doing tricks and I wanted to copy them," he said.
"I asked for a bike when I was eight or nine years old and then started going from there.
"A lot of the older kids at the park took us under their wing.
"The thing I enjoy about it is the addictive feeling of learning new tricks and I've always enjoyed that progression, trying to learn new things and be better than my friends.
"Those older kids helped me when I was young and now it's come full circle, which I'm stoked to see as we grow the sport.
"Because of how much BMX has grown in the last few years, it's a constant cycle of new people.
"It could be your main competitor that you're riding with and they still help you learn, if I'm trying something, Dec [Brooks] will still help me despite us being competitors.”
Brooks joined his teammate on the podium with his first run score of 87.40 enough to secure bronze.
The 26-year-old rocketed from fifth in qualifying to third overall and was able to reflect on a job well done.
“We came here both to get on the podium and we both did it,” he said.
“My goal was to put down a run that I was pleased with and that I’d practiced at home, and that’s what I did.
“In the second run, my pedal snapped, but I was really happy with the first run. For Kieran to go and win it makes all the hard work at home worth it.”